This September weekend, Berlin will showcase just how many stories the city holds within it. You can experience grand opera in Hangar 4, take a ride through Tempelhof-Schöneberg on historic double-decker buses, immerse yourself in unbuilt visions of the future on the Ringbahn, or glide under 64 bridges from the water. There’ll also be concerts, city tours, debates about the future and autumnal festivals featuring pumpkins, apples and potatoes. Enjoy an autumnal weekend in Berlin.
Tip 1: Get caught up in a storm of power with ‘Lear’
An old king, three daughters and a decision that throws everything into turmoil: Aribert Reimann’s opera based on Shakespeare,‘Lear’, returns to the Komische Oper Berlin. Barrie Kosky stages the work as a drama about power, the abuse of power, family and disintegration – and sets the action in the vast Hangar 4 at Tempelhof Airport.
For anyone who enjoys experiencing musical theatre in a setting where the venue itself creates a sense of excitement, this weekend offers no fewer than two such opportunities. A brief introduction will take place 45 minutes before the start of each performance in the covered outdoor foyer.
When: Friday 18 & Sunday 20 September 2026, both at 7.30 pm
Where: Tempelhof Airport, Hangar 4, Columbiadamm 10, Tempelhof
Tip 2: Take a ride on the heritage bus through Tempelhof-Schöneberg
On Sunday, a free hop-on, hop-off tour through Tempelhof-Schöneberg offers a chance to experience industrial heritage, explore the city and take a brief journey back in time. Historic double-decker buses run every half hour, taking you to places that bring to life very different chapters of Berlin’s history. During the journey, experienced guides recount the district’s industrial history.
The tour starts at the main workshop of Berliner Stadtreinigung (BSR). From there, the route takes you to destinations including Tempelhof Airport, the Schwerbelastungskörper, Natur Park Südgelände and the ufaFabrik. You can hop off along the way to explore the sites and exhibitions, and take part in additional guided tours at some stops.
When: Sunday, 20 September 2026, 10 am – 4 pm
Where: Start and finish at the BSR main workshop, Ringbahnstraße 96, Tempelhof
Bus tour through Tempelhof-Schöneberg
Tip 3: Let Maurizio Cattelan unsettle you
A horse hangs from the ceiling, familiar images are thrown into question and even the architecture plays its part: with ‘NIGHT’, the Neue Nationalgalerie is presenting the first major solo exhibition by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan in Germany. The exhibition, part of the 2026 National Gallery Prize, brings together well-known key works such as *Him*, *Novecento* and *La Rivoluzione Siamo Noi* with new pieces. In it, Cattelan explores the boundary between innocence and violence, as well as identity and historical memory.
What is particularly fascinating is how Cattelan incorporates Mies van der Rohe’s famous building: an installation developed specifically for the Neue Nationalgalerie alters the spatial layout of the building – and, with it, the way you move through the exhibition and perceive the space. Twenty years after serving as a curator at the 4th Berlin Biennale, Cattelan is thus returning to Berlin.
When: Friday, Saturday & Sunday, 10 am – 6 pm
Where: Neue Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Straße 50, Tiergarten
Sir Simon Rattle returns to the Berliner Philharmoniker: Experience one of the world’s finest orchestras under its former chief conductor in a concert filled with Spanish elegance, rhythmic fire and archaic power—with works by Manuel de Falla and Leoš Janáček. Book your tickets now! Get your tickets now!
Tip 4: Try out new ways of working together at the Public Vitality Camp
How can cities, institutions and communities remain capable of taking action when climate risks, technological changes and social conflicts all exert pressure at the same time? The Public Vitality Camp is not a traditional conference, but athree-day working space. Discuss urban resilience, water and climate adaptation, public infrastructure, democratic capacity for action, and the interaction between institutions and civil society.
The camp begins on Thursday on the Teufelsberg; on Friday it moves into the heart of the city to Medulla Berlin, before returning to the hill on Saturday. If you’d like to raise difficult questions, discuss an upcoming decision or share practical experiences, then this is the place for you.
When: Thursday 17 to Saturday 19 September 2026, from 2 pm each day
Where: Thursday & Saturday: Teufelsberg Interception Station, Teufelsseechaussee 10, Grunewald; Friday: Medulla Berlin
Public Vitality Camp
Tip 5: Get excited about the ‘Business Race Day’ in Hoppegarten
When the horses turn into the home straight, things get noisy at Hoppegarten Racecourse. On Saturday’s Business Race Day, there are seven races on the programme – including a qualifying race for the World Championship for Amateur Female Jockeys, in which riders from FEGENTRI member countries compete against one another.
For families, there’ll be face painting, a bouncy castle, pony rides and a children’s Grand Prix with hobby horses. If you like, you can bring your own or make one on the spot. The Köpenick Big Band will be playing live.
When: Saturday, 19 September 2026, doors open from 1 pm, first race at 2.30 pm
Where: Hoppegarten Racecourse
Business Race Day
Tip 6: Experience Sir Simon Rattle performing de Falla, Janáček and a world premiere
Sir Simon Rattle, a former chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic , returns to the orchestra’s podium – and this weekend he brings together very different musical worlds. Manuel de Falla’s ballet *The Three-Cornered Hat* is characterised by Spanish rhythms, lightness and wit, whilst Leoš Janáček’s rhapsody *Taras Bulba* tells the story of a Ukrainian Cossack leader in a decidedly more dramatic tone.
In between is a work that will be heard for the very first time this weekend: Rattle conducts the world premiere of a concerto by Cathy Milliken, written for the English horn player Dominik Wollenweber.
When: Thursday 17 & Friday 18 September 2026, 8 pm; Saturday 19 September 2026, 7 pm, from 28 euros
Where: Philharmonie, Main Hall, Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße 1, Tiergarten
Tickets
Tip 7: Take a ride on the Ringbahn through Berlin’s undeveloped future
Whilst today’s Berlin passes by outside the window, this guided tour turns its attention to a city that never came to be. ‘Are Communists Allowed to Dream?’ is part of the ‘What If Berlin’ project, in which the Japanese artist Akira Takayama transforms the Ringbahn into a stage for 27 forgotten visions of the future. The project marks the 75th anniversary of the Berliner Festspiele.
The tour explores ideas that were developed in the socialist part of Berlin and later abandoned. The focus is on a cultural institution, a film, a painting and a commemorative project. In this way, you’ll not only encounter designs that have vanished, but also grapple with the question of which of these ideas could still be developed further today. On Sunday, ‘What If Berlin’ comes to an end after just over three weeks.
When: Friday 18 September, 6 pm & 9 pm; Saturday 19 September, 3 pm & 6 pm in German, 9 pm in English; Sunday 20 September, 4 pm & 7 pm in English
Where: Starting at Gesundbrunnen S-Bahn station, Travel Agency
What If Berlin
Tip 8: Sail under 64 Berlin bridges
Exploring Berlin from the water gives you a whole new perspective. On this bridge cruise , you ’ll pass under 64 bridges on the River Spree and the Landwehr Canal. The route takes in historic buildings, modern architecture, green riverbanks and industrial areas, and winds its way through several Berlin districts.
Along the way, you’ll pass the East Side Gallery, the Oberbaum Bridge, the government district, the Reichstag, Museum Island and the Nikolaiviertel, amongst other sights. In just a few hours, you’ll experience the city’s contrast between the densely built-up city centre, the elevated railway, locks and surprisingly green stretches. An audio guide is available in numerous languages, and you can purchase food and drinks on board if you wish. The tour from Treptow Harbour is also accessible for people with disabilities.
When: at the booked time, duration 3 hours 15 minutes
Where: Jannowitzbrücke jetty, Rolandufer 4, Mitte; alternatively, Treptow Harbour jetty, Puschkinallee 15, Treptow
Tip 9: Let the cello at FLoHM carry you through Emmaus Church
How does a space transform music? Hungarian cellist Gábor Hartyáni explores this question with his solo project FLoHM on Saturday evening at Emmaus Church. Through a blend of his own compositions and improvisations, you’ll experience meditative streams of sound. See how Hartyáni consciously responds to the moment, the audience and the venue’s acoustics.
At Emmaus Church, the music meets a space whose architecture and acoustics can help shape the performance. If you enjoy listening to music with full concentration and are open to improvisation, you’ll experience a concert here where not only the cello but also the space itself plays a role.
When: Saturday, 19 September 2026, 8.00 pm, doors open from 7.30 pm
Where: Emmauskirche, Lausitzer Platz 8 A, Kreuzberg
Tickets
Tip 10: Repark the city on PARK(ing) Day
What happens when a parking space doesn’t belong to a car for a day? That’s exactly what PARK(ing) Day Berlin sets out to explore. Every third Friday in September, artists, politically active groups, neighbourhood initiatives and other committed individuals transform parking spaces into small parks, meeting places or art installations. The idea behind it is a specific question: how could traffic areas be used if they weren’t automatically occupied by private cars?
On Friday, you can discover the answers to this question at several locations across Berlin. In Wilmersdorf, the main event takes place on Berliner Straße; in Schöneberg, a roughly 50-metre-long installation exploring the changing streetscape is being created on Kyffhäuser Straße; and near Pappelallee in Pankow, a car park is being turned into a meeting place with coffee, cake and conversation. Come and experience an exciting day where you’ll see public space through a different lens.
When: Friday, 18 September 2026, times vary depending on the event
Where: various locations in Berlin; main event on Berliner Straße between Grunewaldstraße and Prinzregentenstraße, Wilmersdorf
Tip 11: Savour Berlin’s autumn with pumpkins, apples and potatoes
Berlin’s late summer is taking on a distinctly autumnal feel this weekend: two festivals are putting the harvest, regional produce and hands-on activities in the spotlight. At the Britzer Garten, the Pumpkin Festival is all about the golden season. Around the festival grounds and the meadow by the model boat harbour, you can look forward to a pumpkin trail, autumn crafts, a straw playground and live music, amongst other things.
Things get even more hands-on at the Domäne Dahlem : at the Potato Festival, you can harvest the potatoes yourself and take home various varieties straight from the field. There’ll also be potatoes cooked over an open fire, homemade crisps, historic farm machinery and regional produce at the estate. This way, you can combine two very different Berlin locations in a single weekend, both centred on the same theme: the changing of the seasons and the question of what’s currently finding its way from fields and vegetable patches onto our plates.
When: Potato Festival: Saturday & Sunday, 19 & 20 September 2026, 10 am – 6 pm; Pumpkin and Apple Festival: Sunday, 20 September 2026, from 12 noon
Where: Domäne Dahlem, Königin-Luise-Straße 49, Dahlem; Britzer Garten, fairground and meadow by the model boat harbour, Sangerhauser Weg 1, Neukölln
More festivals and markets
Bonus tip: Extend the summer at Glimm After Hours
A touch of sparkle on the water, electronic beats amidst the greenery, and that feeling that the night is far from over: Glimm After Hours is celebrating its first edition in the Ipse garden. From 2 pm onwards, the lines between a club night and a final summery Sunday afternoon start to blur. Look forward to music and art, to familiar faces and new ones. And in between, there’ll be room for everything that can’t be planned. Because Glimm wants to be more than just another party: it’s about community, openness, curiosity and treating one another with care.
Incidentally, the music for the Glimm premiere will be provided by Maos & Meese, Franca & Mimi Love (aka Finca Amour) and Madmotormiquel.
Tip: A little surprise is also part of the concept: you’ll only find out what it is once you’re there. So put on your sunglasses and don’t think about heading home just yet.
When: Sunday, 20 September, from 2 pm
Where: Ipse Garten, Schlesische Straße 2B, Kreuzberg
For even more event ideas, you can browse through our events calendar at any time.
